i just recently bought a 60 gallon tank and am in the process of picking up three saltwater fish for it. one is a lionfish (dangerous, i know) one if a porcupine puffer, and the other is a snowflake moray eel. a good friend of mine works in the fishroom at petmart and he told me that they will all be fine together but i've read that a puffer might nibble on the fins of the lionfish which is bad because the lionfish's fins are pointed with venomous spines. does anyone know if this gonna be a real problem? i don't want them to kill eachother.
also, any information you can give me on the snowflake would be great. i had a freshwater eel and he died because he refused to eat and i couldn't figure out what the problem was.
2006-06-26 12:08:31 · 7 answers · asked by THIS SITE SUCKS 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
You have picked very interesting tankmates that very well could live together, however not without possible pitfalls. I would be interested to know what kind of lionfish you have chosen, as each kind is slightly different in size and temperment. Your concern about the puffer biting the fins of the lion is very valid, as I have seen lions get stressed and waste away from such abuse. About the puffer getting poisoned from the lion's spines, that is less likely, but I have seen it too. Usually they are unaffected by the venom, though. First off, the size of tank will not let either the puffer or Snowflake enjoy a full healthy life. Porcupine Puffers eventually reach almost to a regulation football in size. And Snowflake Morays can exceed 30" in length. As for Lionfish, a black volitans will outgrow the tank as well, but a red volitans might just be about maxed at full size in a 60 gallon. You've probably heard that you should stock about 1" of fish per 1 gallon of water. This is a good rule of thumb for freshwater, but saltwater would be more like 1" per every 2 gallons of water. There are smaller species in the same catagory, but most tend to be more fragile and easily stressed. I see difficulty in feeding the Eel as a possibility, as well as the Eel possibly getting eaten by the other 2 if the sizes are too different. If you are dead set on these three species (i am assuming a volitans type of lion), then I would add them in stages. First I would let the Eel get used to the tank and feeding well, before adding the Lion. Then let the Lion get comfortable before adding the puffer. At each stage, make sure that your water quality has cycled and is stable (you could be looking at a 2 to 3 month timeframe). I would get an Eel of decent size (12-16") to start, then a medium Lion (6-8"), and then a smaller Puffer (4-6"). You want to add them in basically reverse order of who might pick on who, and in relation of body size to the mouth size of the the aggressor. Make sense? Hopefully I explained it well enough. You don't have to go with exactly the sizes I gave, just keep in mind that the smaller a fish is, the more easily stressed it can become, and the more easily it might fit in another's mouth.
As a side note, was the "freshwater" eel that you had before a moray? If it was a moray, then it was technically brackish, and some salt content would've helped.
2006-06-26 13:15:37 · answer #1 · answered by Jason M 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The sting will not kill it. Ive never heard of it bitting it like you say. if it does though it may learn its lesson. lionfish are very preditorial so i doubt it will let the fish come around it. As for the eal i dont know if they will fight, but they are bot natural born enemies. just tust your friend. if it does happen blame it on him and make him pay for the damage lol.
2006-06-26 12:41:54 · answer #2 · answered by Helios64 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you buy them all the same size they should be fine and if you buy some cool hiding spots for your eel it should leave the other fish alone and also make sure you feed them regulary or they will eat each other
PetsMart Manager
2006-06-26 14:09:24 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know but it sure sounds like you have a very interesting fish tank
2006-06-26 12:10:22 · answer #4 · answered by shizzlechit 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you can put these fish together, no problem at all.
2006-06-26 16:18:39 · answer #5 · answered by Alleycat 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No they won't be able to all live together they might attack eachother, but if you have any more questions you should ask your pet store about it!
2006-06-26 17:11:52 · answer #6 · answered by Smilez 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
depends what kind of fish, then yes.
2006-06-26 12:12:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋